The Friday Night Music Chain: Metal Edition

It's been far too long that I have played some metal. So here's some bands that I think need some attention.

Down - Stone The Crow.

What a fantastic title for a track. The mythology behind the crow itself lends itself to tell the story of a man that can't stand to live with who he is or what he may be. And perhaps this same man is willing to remove his second chance in favor of making his one life explode in front of everyone he knows so they will remember it.



Corrosion Of Conformity - Goodbye Windows



COC's Wiseblood LP was met with mixed reviews by many of their staunch fans and some of their partial constituants. It contained a variety of what the band had delivered over their past two LPs. But what it hadn't delivered was a psuedo-metal-ballad that other bands hadn't dared touch. And "Goodbye Windows" is exactly what made the Wiseblood LP not only powerful for it's time but lasting for it's power.

Here's a repeat here on the 43 blog.

Crowbar - No Quarter



I can remember hearing Zeppelin's version of this for the first time and thinking that this would be a massive metal tune for some heavy band to cover. And several have. The first that I heard was Crowbar. This is a band that I never paid to much attention to back when this was recorded in the early 90s, but it's still as brutal, honest, and forthcoming as the original. But they weren't the last to cover this.



Tool, more than any other band, captured the soul, the passion, that tilted edge of No Quarter that only Zeppelin could offer. Maynard's vocals are the only ones that I feel can match Plants pleading, urging, voice.

Wednesday Night Metal Moments

The summer after my senior year in highschool was filled with lots of new music, new memories, and new feelings. Having grown up with Led Zeppelin since I was born ( my father used to play the entire Zeppelin Physical Graffiti album for me so I could go to sleep when I was young ) I often felt the urge to defend them against any and all detractors.

When a band covers a song from another, there is often a reverence that is forsaken in favor of blatant "attention-whoring" and a desire to be seen as relevant. We have seen this with far too many bands to mention.

And there has been no other band, save the Beatles perhaps, that has been covered by groups that span every genre that there are currently catagories for than Led Zeppelin.

Here is Crowbar's version of "No Quarter" from ther 1993 album.



While many will point to TOOL's version of this track, it's not often that you will find Crowbar's version spoken of. The reason being that their fanbase is so rabid and unflinchingly partisan that they often refuse to acknowledge any other band that has covered this song. They often go to the extreme that Crowbar is even superior to Zeppelin.

The reason that I feel the desire to showcase their version of this song is the standard vision of what "metal" music is.

Robert Plant, in many ways, has decried that label of "Heavy Metal" band. But, there is little denying that this track is well received in this manner by a band that is blatantly "metal".